Deidre DeJear has dedicated her career to community and small business development. In 2008, on the brink of the recession, Deidre found her affinity for working with small business and building relationships in the community. She began her own small business, Caleo Enterprises, which provides entrepreneurs affordable marketing tools and business strategies. As the sole-founder, Deidre’s work has impacted over 300 small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

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DEIDRE BELIEVES IN SMALL BUSINESSES

Deidre developed and implemented the Financial Capability Network, a collaborative that targets low to moderate income individuals and families. Over the last 5 years, the program provided nearly 100,000 Iowans access to financial management, knowledge and skills. This included training that provides quality education to more than 300 businesses and nonprofits.

Beyond her work as a business owner, Deidre is known for paying it forward and driving positive change in the community. In 2005, as a Drake University student, Deidre co-founded Back 2 School Iowa, a non-profit dedicated to collaborating with communities and corporations in order to provide resources to inspire youth in continuing in their education and build their future careers. This small organization impacts more than 3,000 Central Iowans annually.

Deidre believes small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They are integral in providing diverse products and services and key to adding culture in our communities. There are over 260,000 small businesses in the State of Iowa alone. Those businesses provide jobs for nearly 40% of the workforce. Not only are they providing for their families, but they are strengthening our economy.

Through her work, Deidre has proven she's the candidate we count on to help people start their businesses and stay in business.

DEIDRE WILL DEFEND OUR VOTE

In addition, Deidre is no stranger to voter engagement. Her first introduction to campaigns was through her grandmother, who became County Elections Commissioner in Mississippi in the mid-nineties. It was from that early experience, that she learned the value in engaging the community through voting.

Since that time, she has volunteered her time with non-profits and political campaigns to connect with new and existing voters. In 2012, Deidre worked statewide to re-elect President Barack Obama. She developed and implemented a program to educate, motivate, and mobilize low-propensity voters, which resulted in over 5,000 new registrants and more than doubled African American turnout. After 2012, Deidre went on to manage two victorious campaigns for Des Moines School Board, District 2 & 4.

In their last session, our state legislature decided to pass the controversial voter ID law, which unfortunately erects more obstacles beyond just IDs for Iowans to cast their ballots. In every campaign she has worked for, Deidre has a track record of increasing turnout and registering new voters. She will work with our county officials to ensure that people have the knowledge and resources to overcome these new obstacles.

As Secretary of State, Deidre will ensure our voter process is secure, accessible and fair for ALL Iowans - meaning rural and urban, young and young-at-heart, those with disabilities, people with money and people without. And she will do that with the utmost integrity. Deidre believes that if we are to protect our democracy, ALL Iowans need to have a voice at the ballot box.

Deidre and her husband Marvin reside in Des Moines, with their two dogs, Macy and Maurice. Her campaign will reach every corner of the state and engage people to make Iowa’s economic development and civic engagement the best in the nation.